The Objective Friend
by maggienhawk
Summary: PostCommitted. Sara needs a friend. WS and GS.


**Title: The Objective Friend**

**Author: Maggienhawk**

**Disclaimer: I have the best summer job in the world, but sadly I don't make enough money to own even the smallest bit of CSI.**

**Summary: Post-Committed. Sara needs a friend. W/S and G/S.**

**A/N: When I was writing this, I felt like I should be shot, simply because this is the second GSR heavy episode I turned into WSR. However, I feel that I redeemed myself at the end, so don't get discouraged if you are into GSR. There's enough love for Sara to go around and make everyone happy! This came to me as I was sitting, watching 'Recipe for Murder' and I just wrote, not even a plot in my head. Enjoy!**

"Crazy people do make me feel crazy."

The second I said it, I could hear Warrick telling me something similar years ago, something his grandmother had told him. "Crazy people make even sane people act crazy." For a frozen moment in time, the only thing I could think about was getting out of that mental hospital so that I could be standing where I am right now. But then Grissom offered to take me off the case, so my survival instincts kicked in and I convinced him that I wanted to finish the case.

In reality, that was the farthest from the truth. The second we stepped into the building and the patients paraded through the halls in front of us, I was ready to bolt. They were the type of guys I dedicated my life to putting exactly where they were, so that people, like me, wouldn't ever have to deal with them again. So much for that theory.

I felt the walls closing in every second I was in there, sometimes getting a break from it all when I was outside collecting Joanne McKay's cigarette butts. But once Adam locked me in the nurse's station with him, I felt completely trapped, and not just in the literal sense. And you know, despite being in such close contact with a known sexual predator, the only thing I wanted when I got out of the room was someone to hold me.

And it was the only time during the case that I regretted that I was working with Grissom simply because I knew he wouldn't cross that line.

Which explains why I'm standing here right now, debating whether or not I want to knock on the door in front of me. I am in desperate need of a friend, and despite how supportive both Grissom has been the past few weeks, I need someone that can be objective. Using that line of thought, I knock loudly three times and wait.

The door opens and it looks like Warrick just woke up after falling asleep in his clothes. I ask him such, and he says that he had just dozed off on the couch about an hour ago. I claim that I can come back another time. He just smiles and motions me in.

"Sara Sidle just doesn't come over without a good reason."

I sit on the couch, and after declining an offer for a beverage, he asks why I'm here. I start to get nervous. It's been so long since I've needed Warrick for anything, and I begin to wonder if I even belong here.

He notices my wringing hands, and walks around his breakfast bar to sit on the coffee table in front of me, grabbing my hands lightly within his own. "Sara, what's wrong?"

I smile and tell him I thought of him today. He looks at me funny, and I continue. "I remembered something you told me awhile ago, about crazy people making sane people crazy."

"What in the world made you think of that?"

"Grissom and I were working a case in a mental hospital."

He nods his agreement in my train of thought, and reaches up to brush an errant strand of hair from my forehead. Silence gathers between us, and for minutes it's just waiting to be shattered by my voice.

I can't take it anymore and I just let it all out. Sentence after sentence of exactly what happened, how Grissom left me alone; Adam shutting the door, stalking closer and closer to me; my desperate, failed attempt to drug him; being held on the floor by a known rapist with his arm around my body and a shank against my neck; looking up to see Grissom trying desperately to keep his emotions below the surface, but looking at me like it was the last time he was ever going to see me alive; Adam's distraction, allowing me freedom; and my frantic dash down the hallway, only to find a caged window and no way out of the building into the storm brewing outside. Tears fall uncontrollably down my cheeks, and I'm slumped into Warrick's chest as he holds me tight.

Feeling his arms tighten even more around me finally brings be back from the memories and I pull back slightly, but he doesn't remove his arms from around me. Logically, I should feel trapped, not wanting human contact after such an ordeal, but in reality I can't get enough of Warrick's arms. I wrap my own around him, increasing the contact, and bury my face in his neck.

The next thing I know is that my lips are on his, and I can't remember for the life of me exactly how we managed to get into this position. One of his hands has made its way up my back to the nape of my neck, caressing my skin, and tangling his fingers within my hair. This kiss is chaste and goes no further than the simple slide of lips upon lips, because as soon as I feel his tongue seeking entrance into my mouth, I pull away abruptly.

Standing up, I immediately begin to pace around his living room, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. No specific answer is coming to mind, and I turn to him.

I have never in my life seen Warrick Brown blush, but it is possible. His face flushes as he turns it away from me. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to get carried away like that."

I just nod my head, not wanting to speak because all I know is I'll end up embarrassing someone. I still have no idea who initiated the kiss in the first place, and trying to explain this away will not be easy.

I walk over to his dining room table, and take a seat, staring at my hands folded in front of me. He follows me, sitting directly across the table. Now that we're physically prepared for the impending discussion, I try desperately to get mentally prepared.

There is no question in my mind that he is an attractive man. Hell, if we hadn't had such a rocky start when I moved here, I probably would have noticed it a lot sooner than I did. But, just thinking about it, I could never ruin the friendship we've built over the years with a relationship that is very possibly doomed to fail from the start. That and I'm currently emotionally entangled in my feelings for Grissom. Not a way to start a relationship with another man. Trust me on this.

I can feel him staring at me from across the table, and I look up from my hands. He just has a little smile on his face, and I know that he can tell exactly what I am thinking right now.

"It didn't mean anything. You needed comfort, and we kissed. Either we can turn this into a big deal and ruin everything; or we can forget about it and move on, and maybe even laugh about it someday. What do you say?"

I give him a little smirk that reveals just how much I hate it when he does that. He takes an event that has me so totally twisted inside, and reduces down to nothing. Not that I have a problem with that.

"Besides, I'm not stupid enough to step on Grissom's toes when to comes to you."

My eyes widen, and I can't believe he actually voiced the truth about my pseudo-non-relationship with Grissom. In all the years we've been friends, I've never said anything about him and Catherine's way too obvious attraction, and he hasn't said a thing about Grissom and I. It's just the way things work.

Again, I can see him thinking along the same lines as he continues, "Get over it. The way I see it now, is that you have two choices. Either you can go home and sleep it off; or you can go over to Grissom's and get the comfort you really need, from the person you really need it from. And besides, I think he could probably use a little comforting himself, if what you said about him seeing you in the room was true."

I can feel my face flush at his words, but a smile slowly spreads across my face. It's nice to hear that I haven't been imagining all of this stuff over the years; that someone else notices Grissom's slightly odd advances towards me.

I get up and hug him from behind tightly, leaning towards his ear and whispering that he is the best friend I've ever had. He reaches up and pats my arms, and returns the compliment. He gets up as I release him, and walks me to the door. Just as I'm about to walk out, I turn around quickly and place a small kiss on his cheek, whispering a quick thank you. He just nods.

I walk out into the sun, and pull my sunglasses down over my eyes. I have one more stop to make before I go home, and I can only hope it goes just as well as this one did.


End file.
